Montclair State Votes!

President Cole joins resident students to vote in the special election.

Photo: Mike Peters

Led by President Cole, Montclair State University resident students make their way to the local polling station to vote in the special election.

The State of New Jersey held a special election on October
16 to fill the vacant Senate seat of the late Senator Frank Lautenberg and resident
students at Montclair State, joined by President Susan A. Cole, headed to their
local polling places and cast their ballots.

The Montclair State campus spans three municipalities in two
counties, so the location of the students’ residence halls (the address they
used when they registered to vote) determined where their polling place was
located. Students who live in Freeman or Russ Halls are in Ward #1 District #9
in the Township of Montclair so they cast their ballots at Bradford Elementary School
on Hebron Road, a short walk from the campus. Residents of Bohn Hall are in
Clifton, so they voted at Clifton’s PS #16 and were provided with shuttle bus
service to their polling place.

Students living at the north end of campus are in District #9
of Little Falls and had a special on-campus polling place set up for them in
the multi-purpose room of Machuga Heights. Not only did students cast their
ballots there, but the board workers staffing the polling stations were
Montclair State students, trained and paid by Passaic County.

President Cole’s residence is located in the same district
and ward as Freeman and Russ Halls, so she met up with a group of students
outside College Hall and they all walked over to the Bradford School together to
cast their votes. Joining the president on the walk to the polls were Sharbel
Alsabain, Amanda Santos, Tiffani Rottner, Bryan Cocola, Ashley Turnbull, Josh
Duncan, Matthew Szot, Collin Mastrian, James Davis and Johanna Durrazzi.

Although the special election is over, students who
participated now know the ropes and will be ready for the upcoming general election
on November 5. The same voting operation will be in place for the general
election so registered students should go to the same polling place to cast
their votes.